West Chester University makes Kiplinger's list

WEST CHESTER – For the sixth time, West Chester University has been named to the Kiplinger’s Personal Finance list of 100 best values in public colleges for the 2012-2013 year.

“It’s a reflection of our mission as a public university to provide high quality education at a price Pennsylvania residents can afford,” said Mark Pavlovich, vice president for advancement at the university.

Rankings are measured by a system that lists the top four-year schools that combine outstanding education with economic value.

The university was one of only three universities in the Commonwealth to receive the designation. The two are Pennsylvania State University at University Park and The University of Pittsburg. West Chester was ranked number 71 for in-state and number 57 for out of state.

Kiplinger’s assesses quality according to a number of measurable standards, including the admission rate, the percentage of students who return for sophomore year, the student-faculty ratio and the four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include low sticker prices, abundant financial aid and low average debt at graduation.

According to the finance publication, employees began with a list of about 600 schools that was narrowed down to 130 based on academic quality. Each school was then ranked based on cost and financial aid. Academic quality accounts for 55 percent and cost accounts for 45 percent of the ranking.

In order to evaluate costs, the publication said it took tuition, fees, room and board as well as books into account. Schools were also rewarded and ranked based on student indebtedness, competitiveness, graduation rate and academic support

According to Kiplinger’s assessment, a year of in-state tuition at the university including associated costs is $18,042 while the cost of out-of-state tuition is $27,868. The admission rate is 47 percent and the four-year graduation rate is 43 percent.

“We applaud this year’s top 100 schools for their efforts to maintain academic standards while meeting the financial needs of their students,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance in a prepared statement.

Applications to West Chester have skyrocketed the past few years and the university is working to develop more housing to support the students. Pavlovich said about 14,000 applications were submitted for admittance into the fall 2012 class with only enough space for about 2,250 of them.

While the demand for the university appears to keep increasing, tough state budgets have threatened tuition levels at the university. Last year the state passed a budget that maintained much of the same levels of financial support but in years prior the school saw painful cuts.

“There have been reductions and we have had to adapt to that and it is a challenge to not pass those costs along to the students,” Pavlovich said.

The university has increased its fund-raising efforts to make up for the reductions, Pavlovich said

The annual public school rankings appear in Kiplinger’s February 2013 issue currently on newsstands.